New Mexico Seeks New Payments From Medicaid Patients, Sheriff's Deputy Pleads No Contest

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez says several acts of bravery helped save lives during a deadly shooting at a small-town high school.

Authorities say a student opened fire Thursday at Aztec High School, killing two classmates. The shooter also died.

Martinez told reporters that teachers, school staff and law enforcement jumped in quickly to prevent more deaths. She did not provide any details.

The governor described the day as difficult and called the shooting a heinous and horrific act. She called for New Mexicans to unite and support the small community of Aztec.

Authorities haven't identified the shooter or the victims. They also haven't provided any details about what led to the shooting or how it unfolded.

Students Hid In Classrooms During Shooting That Left 3 Dead – The Associated Press

Students hid in their classrooms, some behind locked doors, as a suspect opened fire Thursday inside a New Mexico high school, killing two classmates before ending up dead.

Authorities and other officials in the small town of Aztec near the Colorado border have released few details other than to say the shooter and the two victims all attended Aztec High School. No other injuries were reported, and it was not clear if the shooter died by suicide or was killed by police.

Local and federal authorities are investigating what led to the shooting and did not immediately release any details about the circumstances. A news conference was planned later Thursday.

Sophomore Garrett Parker told Albuquerque television station KOAT that he was upstairs in history class when he heard what he initially thought was students banging on lockers.

As the noise got louder and closer, school officials issued a warning over the loud speaker.

Some parents reported hearing from their children via text messages that they could hear the shooter approaching.

The school of about 900 students was cordoned off as authorities cleared the campus and teens were taken to another location where they could be reunited with their parents.

A crowd of nervous parents initially gathered outside City Hall to wait for more information as officers tried to reassure them about the safety of their children.

All schools in town closed for the day, but authorities said there were no other credible threats to students at the high school or other schools in the neighboring communities of Bloomfield or Farmington.

Aztec is a rural community of 6,500 people in the heart of northwestern New Mexico's oil and gas country and near the Navajo Nation. Its main street is lined by old brick buildings that date back more than a century.

Residents voiced disbelief on social media, while members of the New Mexico congressional delegation, state Attorney General Hector Balderas and other elected officials offered their condolences and other assistance.

A former deputy with a sheriff's office in eastern New Mexico has pleaded no contest to tampering with public records.

The Eastern New Mexico News reports the charge against 31-year-old Brandon Nolen will be dismissed if he completes 18 months of supervised probation.

The former deputy with the Curry County Sheriff's Office was arrested in June, and he also was charged with perjury and possession of a controlled substance. The other charges were dismissed under the plea agreement reached Wednesday.

Authorities say Nolen stole methamphetamines obtained during a March traffic stop and lied about it in sworn documents.

Nolen's attorney Michael Garrett says the agreement is a conditional discharge and not an adjudication of guilt.

Prosecutors say more than 30 criminal cases were dismissed this summer because of Nolen's association.

Low-income Medicaid patients in New Mexico may soon have to pay more for certain brand-name drugs or if they visit the emergency room to receive routine medical care.

The state Human Services Department on Wednesday sought permission from federal regulators to authorize the collection of new copayments and monthly premiums in an effort to conserve state spending on Medicaid health care for the poor and disabled.

A black female federal immigration officer in New Mexico says she was repeatedly pulled over by sheriff's deputies — twice by the same deputy — with no probable cause.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico announced Wednesday it has filed a lawsuit on behalf of 38-year-old Sherese Crawford against the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office stemming from three alleged racially profiling stops.

According to the lawsuit, Crawford was first stopped in April 2017 on suspicion of driving a stolen car. The ACLU says Crawford was driving a rental car provided by ICE.

The lawsuit says Deputy Patrick Rael then pulled her over later that month for tailgating and again the next month for driving "too slow."

Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Felicia Maggard did not immediately return an email.

Las Cruces Bishop Oscar Cantu has visited a southeastern New Mexico parish after its pastor was charged with criminal sexual contact.

The Hobbs News-Sun reports Cantu celebrated the Saturday and Sunday's Masses days following news that St. Helena Catholic Church pastor Rev. Ricardo Bauza was facing charges.

According to a 15-page criminal complaint filed last month, Bauza got into a shower with an adult male, and washed the victim's body with a loofah in the church rectory.

The complaint says two male church members also told police Bauza showed them cell phone photos of his genitals.

Cantu told parishioners he only became aware of the case last week when a News-Sun reporter called the diocese asking for a comment.

He says Bauza is in a treatment center undergoing therapy.

New Mexico Legislature Under Scrutiny For Self-Enrichment – Associated Press

Limited safeguards against self-enrichment in the nation's only unsalaried legislature are under scrutiny in the wake of a corruption trial and felony convictions against a former New Mexico state senator.

Former Sen. Phil Griego is awaiting sentencing after a jury found him guilty of fraud, felony ethical violations and other charges.

The case is a central exhibit in the campaign for a 2018 ballot initiative. New Mexico voters will consider whether to create an independent ethics commission that could shift the review of complaints against lawmakers from closed-door committees to a more public forum.

Some lawmakers say the unsalaried status of lawmakers has turned into a liability that is exploited by high-paid lobbyists. Others say citizen legislators bring needed expertise to policy debates.

Leaders of colleges and universities in New Mexico are requesting the state Legislature to separate lottery scholarships from tuition costs.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that New Mexico State University Chancellor Garrey Carruthers presented the request to a Legislative Finance Committee hearing on Tuesday on behalf of the Council of University Presidents.

Carruthers says the request aims "break the tradition of tuition going up in comparison to the lottery scholarship."

The state lottery has funded scholarships for qualifying students to attend public universities and colleges in the state. The scholarship amount has been based on individual tuition.

Carruthers says the current idea is to give the scholarships at a set amount across the board or to distribute the funding to universities for each to decide how to dispense.

Patagonia Sues Over Trump's Monuments Order – Associated Press

Outdoor company Patagonia has sued to block President Donald Trump's cuts to Utah's Bears Ears National Monument.

Patagonia's lawsuit was filed Wednesday night, becoming the fourth legal challenge after Trump announced Monday he would shrink Bear Ears and the Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah.

The California-based company argues shrinking the monument by 85 percent is an "extreme overreach in authority" and strips much-needed protections from sacred tribal lands. It filed the suit on behalf of several organizations.

The lawsuit came after Patagonia replaced its usual home page with a stark message, "The President Stole Your Land."

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke shot back by saying the claim is "nefarious, false and a lie."

A coalition of five tribes has also sued to preserve Bears Ears. Two lawsuits have been filed to protect Grand Staircase.

The boundaries of New Mexico's two national monuments that were under review will remain intact, but Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says modifications will be made to protect the long-standing culture of grazing and to ensure hunters and anglers don't lose access.

Cause Of Pipeline Rupture Unknown – Associated Press

A Houston-based energy company says it's investigating what caused one of its natural gas pipelines to rupture, explode and catch fire in southeastern New Mexico's oil patch.

Spokesman Rick Rainey of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. says the incident early Wednesday morning in a sparsely populated rural area south of Carlsbad involved a line that transfers gas from wells to a treatment facility.

Eddy County Emergency Manager Jennifer Armendariz says there are no reported injuries but that one storage building burned before authorities shut down the pipeline to extinguish the fire.

Armendariz says authorities first had to identify what company's pipeline was involved.

The incident caused the closure of two nearby highways. U.S. 285 was reopened to traffic late Wednesday morning while State Route 31 remained closed.

Two more candidates have jumped into the race for New Mexico lieutenant governor.

State Sen. Howie Morales is running for the Democratic nomination in a crowded primary race. Michele Garcia Holmes will seek the Republican nomination, with no other current contenders.

A former teacher, Morales of Silver City has served in the state Senate since 2008 and ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2014. Garcia Holmes is a former police officer and former chief of staff to the New Mexico Attorney General's Office.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that other Democrats in the race are Eagles Nest resident Jeff Carr, Dona Ana County Commissioner Billy Garrett, former House Majority Leader Rick Miera, and David McTeigue, a juvenile probation officer from Rio Rancho.

Graduation Rate Improves But Still Among Lowest – Albuquerque Journal

New Mexico saw a record high graduation rate last year, but the state still lags most of the nation.

The Albuquerque Journal reports new data from the U.S. Department of Education found the state has the second-worst graduation rate in the country at 71 percent. Only Washington, D.C. was lower.

The national graduation rate was 84 percent in 2016, another record.

The New Mexico Public Education Department said the state’s largest district, Albuquerque Public Schools, saw a four percent increase in its graduation rate last year to 66 percent. The state’s rate has risen by 8 percentage points since 2011.

A PED spokeswoman said policies by the Martinez Administration are behind the rise in graduation rates, but noted there is still more work to do.